Castros irked by congressman's presence

Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett speaks during the opening of the new Accion Texas-Louisiana campus on June 28, 2011.

Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett speaks during the opening of the new Accion Texas-Louisiana campus on June 28, 2011.

Photo: BILLY CALZADA, Billy Calzada / Gcalzada@express-news.net

Photo: BILLY CALZADA, Billy Calzada / Gcalzada@express-news.net

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Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett speaks during the opening of the new Accion Texas-Louisiana campus on June 28, 2011.

Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett speaks during the opening of the new Accion Texas-Louisiana campus on June 28, 2011.

Photo: BILLY CALZADA, Billy Calzada / Gcalzada@express-news.net

Castros irked by congressman's presence

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There's a new politician in town — U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin — and his presence here is irking some politically prominent twins.

One of them, state Rep. Joaquín Castro, announced last week he's running for Congress, pitting himself against Doggett in a new district molded by Republicans that faces legal challenges.

Stretching from southeastern Austin to downtown San Antonio, Congressional District 35 is part of a Republican plan to fracture Travis County into five districts and redraw the current district of archenemy Doggett into conservative turf.

While criticizing the Republican map, Doggett says he'll run in the tenuous new district should it survive.

Intent on assimilating into uncharted territory, the congressman in recent days has pursued a busy schedule of local appearances, including one Tuesday at Acción Texas-Louisiana, a micro-lending nonprofit, at which he requested to speak alongside his opponent's brother, Mayor Julián Castro.

He says it's not campaigning — not yet.

“There's no doubt that much of my interest in what is happening in San Antonio relates to the fact that a portion of the district that I've been representing in Congress has been reconfigured to include the Alamo and substantial portion of San Antonio,” Doggett said. “So I'm meeting with a number of people, really to listen to concerns. That's important. And whenever there's an opportunity to celebrate a common interest, whether it's micro-lending, the events at (the National Association of Latino Elected Officials), I'm going to do it. That seems to me to be absolutely appropriate.”

Julián Castro had a different take.

“I have to say, it was a bit odd,” the mayor said of the congressman's insistence at appearing at the Acción forum. “It may be quite normal by Washington standards, but it did strike me as somewhat odd.”

Joaquín Castro went further.

“There's no reason for (Doggett) to be in San Antonio in an official capacity except for the purposes of campaigning,” he said. “I think he should be honest about what he's doing.”

At a reception for Doggett Wednesday evening, held by lawyer Pat Maloney Jr. at his downtown office, a stack of bumper stickers reading “Lloyd Doggett, U.S. Congress” greeted guests at the door.

Maloney said the reception was for Doggett's candidacy. “It's an inevitable conflict between two good people,” he said.

In a speech to guests, Doggett noted his record against bank bailouts, disparaged Republicans' redistricting efforts and mentioned his 2004 victory in Hidalgo County, where Republicans had previously banished him in hopes of ending his career. He also asked for the crowd's support.

“I'm asking you to stand with me,” he said. “We will be here regularly, just as we were in the Valley.”

By encroaching beyond his district, Doggett is “double-speaking and double-dipping,” Joaquín Castro said, because Doggett does not currently represent San Antonio, has expressed dismay at the boundaries of the new district and is using federal resources to campaign here.

“I don't begrudge him campaigning for the office,” he said, “but he shouldn't be doing that with taxpayer money.”

Last week, Doggett's district director, Amanda Tyler, called Acción Texas-Louisiana to request the speaking gig for Doggett at the Tuesday event, said Janie Barrera, executive director of the nonprofit.

Barrera said she took some time to grant the request but didn't question its appropriateness.

“We receive so much support from the federal government,” she said.

In a statement late Wednesday, Doggett swatted Castro's attack.

“Nonsense,” he said. “Apparently, unable to find anything to criticize in my years of public service, he's chosen this disappointing attack. I keep federal and nonfederal separate. Without using federal resources, individual staff members, on leave or on their own personal time, do not lose their rights as citizens to properly assist in nonfederal efforts.”

Doggett added, “Anything (Tyler) has done for me that was not purely federal business has been done on her personal time.”

Vince Leibowitz, a partner in an Austin political consulting firm, called the Castros' concerns a “reach.”

“It's a tactic to try to knock some of the luster off Lloyd Doggett, but I think it's probably a misguided tactic,” Leibowitz said. “If you look at congressmen in situations like Congressman Doggett, when they have districts that have completely morphed into something else, and they're looking at a district they're going to run in, they're going to be active in that district whether they're doing campaign events or not.”

A nine-term, liberal congressman in a conservative state, Doggett was unruffled by the attention.

“It seems a little hyper-sensitive,” he said. “But I'm so accustomed to being attacked on a regular basis by Republicans, I would say this seems very minor in contrast.”